Vehicle-tire.



(No Model) drawings representing like parts.

valso forming a part of lthis specification.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,811- dated February 6, 1900. Application ledllngust 16, 1897. Serial No. 648,383. (No model.)

To @Z5 lwir/010i, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT COWEN, of Cambridge, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Vehicle-Tires, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the My invention is an improved tire for roadvehioles, being particularly intended for the better class of carriages and-carts, whereby they may be readily equippedwith a yielding trend-surface.

The main object of my. invention is to pro vide a tire which may be readily conformed to different-sized wheels and rigidly and positively secured directly thereto, being also durable, compact, and inexpensive, and presenting at the same time a neat and attractive appearance.'

In general terms my invention comprises a linked or flexible carrier or supporting-plate for the tread member or tire proper, and to this carrier is permanently .secured a usual yieldingor rubber tire or tread surface, the. rubber being interlocked therewith in such a manner that it presents an extremely-finished appearance and also is extremely durable and immovably secured.

By having the tire capabie of iiexure throughout its length it is readily adaptable to various-sized wheels without any special conformation thereto in itsv manufacture, as has'heretofore been necessary, especiallyv in tires'for the heavier class of vehicles.

The details of construction of my invention will be more particularly pointed lout in the following description, and the invention will behereiuafter defined in the appended claims,

' In the accompanying drawings,which show one embodiment of my invention; Figure 1 is. a fragmentary front elevation thereof, showing my improved tireiapplied to a usual vehicle-wheel. Fig. '2 is a transverse section thereof on the line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is `Van enlarged side elevation, partly in section, showing the details. of construction thereof' of any construction, which may or may not be provided with a usual steel tire A', and on this wheel I have shown .m y improved tire Br The supporting-plate or carrier for the tire proper is herein shown as composed of a plurality of links b, which may be coupled together to any extent by suitable means, projecting tongues b being herein shown as hooked over bars b2 in order to give the del sired amount of rigidity to the carrier and yet permit the required amount of ilexure therein in order to accommodate the tire to large and small wheels.

Referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that each link is struck from a vpiece of sheet metal, preferably steel, having the bar h2 and tongue b' at the opposite ends thereof and midway of these provided with a bridge b3, havinga threaded boss b4 at its center, and adjacent either side of the bridge is a retaining-arch b5, the' sides of the link being formed by crimping the plate upwardly at h6 and inwardly at b7 to form a sort of dovetailed central portion for the upper side of the link, in which the rubber is to be secured, as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 7, and the link being bent over, forming a loop bs, and'downwardly at b9, the opposite sides b9 being approximately parallel and extending below the rest i -of the link in order-to embrace the sides of the felly A or tire A', and the loops or np- Wardly-extendin g portions of the sides inclosling the tread member to guard and retain it.

It being understood that la4 -carrier or supporting-plate made up of a plurality of links such as ll". have described is provided, the yielding portion b1 is secured theretoas follows: The carrieris placed in a mold of proper shape to form the desired-tread portion b1. and rubber is placedin position on top ofthe carrier, presaurefbeing then applied in order to ,compressi the rubber andalso force it withand the manner of securing the tire to th Wheel-felly. Fig. 4 is a top plan` of the carn rier or supporting-plate of the tire. Fig. 5

is a sido' elevation illustrating the preferred i shall form athin layer, beneath fthe bar 3?,"

Iin all Ithe cavities ofthe-carrier, so thatl Jthe rubber shall.. solidiy iiil every crevice 'and bend ofthe carrier and preferably so thatit IOC -form having the rubber in its normal tension when the tire is bent to as small'a curve as the aperture Z913 between the links will permit, and this curvature being less than that of the usual wheel to which the tire is to be attached it follows that when the tire is straightened 4more or :less-forinstance, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 5-in order to fit it to the Wheel to which it is to be attached the treadsurface of the rubber will be put under more or less compression, and therefore beI made to offer more resist-ance and wear better than if the tire were vulcanized in the first place at the curvature to which :it

is to be used. v y ,f

Having provided the complete tire as above described and the, rubber having been bored out from the screw-holes b" or the mold originally having been made of a shape to prevent the rubber from fil-ling said holes, the tire will be applied to the wheel and cut ol into proper length, so that the ends thereof will abut tightly, asV clearly shown in Fig. 3. Screws 514 will then be inserted through the felly into such ofthe links as itis found necessary in order to hold the tire with sufficient security, these screws being countersnnk, if desired, and the holes 'filled in with plugs 615 (see Fig. 3) if extreme neatness is desired. By this provision it is evident that the tire is positively secured to the Wheel rim or felly, so that ne matterwhat strain is brought to bear upon the tire it cannot possibly be pulled loose from the Wheel. The rubber is so embedded and interlocked Withits carrier that it is practically as strong as though it Were one piece, and then in addition to this solid strong construction the screws, entering, as they do, from the felly side and screwinginto the carrier at as many places as desi-red, render the tire absolutely rigid, permanent, and immovable. In case the yielding tire has been secured over the usual steel tire A the depending sides b9 of the links may, if desired, be bent under the steel tire, as shown at bm, Fig. 7.' i Y It will be understood from the above description and the drawings that my invention provides a tire capable of application to anysized wheel and from which the rubber portion of the tire cannot possibly become loosened and cannot be injured by the carrier and which, by reason of the fact that the rubber enters all the openings in and between the links, presents an absolutely smooth surface exterior, it being understood thatthe rubber fills the crevices Z113 between the links as vvell as all other openings thereof. The sides of the carrier extend in planes parallel to that of the wheel, so that the sides of the tire consist of the inelastic metallic sections or sides et the links joined in one smooth exi link-sections at 1313.

ternalsurface therewith by the elastic portions of the rubber,which come flush with the r This feature also renders the tire absolutely noiseless, inasmuch as no metal is permitted to contact with any other metal, but, on the contrary, every portion thereof is surroundedo or packed With the rubber. l

One main advantage of my invention besides the permanency and positive securing of the tire is that the tire may be quickly put on by any wheelwright or, in fact, by anykone unskilled in such matters.

lleretofore in the matter of yielding; tires of this class, so far as I am aware, `it has been necessary to form the tire for the particular size of wheel yto which it is to be attached,

and it has also been necessary to have more or less intricate machinery for securing the same in position, 'Whereas all this is obviated by my invention, and, moreover, it will b'e understood that,- if desired, the tire maybe apfplied to the Wheel in sections, so that if one section thereof becomes injured it can be replaced without necessitating renewing the l do not herein claim, broadly, the provision-Q A in connection with a yielding tread member of iexible securing means for said tread mem ber including a carrier having retainingarches extending into and permanently embedded in the tread member, said securing means being capable of bending longitudinally more or less, inasmuch as the same constitutes a part of the subject-matter of my copending application, Serial No. 704,477, and is therein claimed.

' Having described my invention, what l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l 1. A tire, consisting of a yielding tread member, and a supporting member or cari rier, said carrier comprising connected links,

provided with retaining-arches extending up into and permanently embedded in the tread member, substantially as described.

2. A tire, consistingofa yielding tread member, and a supporting member or carrier, permanently held together, said carrier comprising connected links having at each side upturned sides inclosing said tread member to guard and retain it, substantially as described.

3. A tire, consisting ofv a yielding tread member, and a supporting member or carrier, said carrier comprising connected links having at each side upturned sides inclosing said tread member, the inner surfaces of said sides approaching each other to constitute a dovetail to hold the tread member, substantially as described.

4c. A. tire, consisting 'of a yielding-tread IIO ige

member, and a supporting member or car-A rier, said carrier comprising connected links having their sides looped upwardly to inclose the tread member, and the free ends of said sides extending downwardly to lap over'the rimof the wheel, said links being separated from each other at their sides, and the yielding material ofsaid tread' member entering between said links and within said side loops,

Y substantially as described.

6. A tire, consisting of a yielding tread member, and a supporting member or carrier, said carrier comprising connected links provided with interiorly-threaded bosses or screw-holes to receive screws from ihewl1eelrim, substantiallyT as described.

7. Av tire, consisting of a yielding tread member, and al supporting member or carrier, said carrier comprising connected links,

`the yielding material of said tread member being formed integrally above and below said links, the former for the tread proper and the latter to cushion the tire between the links and the wheel-rim, substantially as described.

8.' A flexible tire, having sides extending in planes parallel to that of the wheel, said sides consisting of inelastic sections or links joined in one smooth external surface there with by elastic portions, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.A

ROBERT COWEN.

Witnesses: I

(3H-Anims E. JoLL, GEORGE W. WHITTEMORE. 

